Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Trefoil]

Saw this today and my husband and I both cracked up. Pretty much spot on. lol

 

[Farmerboy16]

My little kid is really growing fast! I dehorned him last week, so I hope that I did a good job!

 

[JackieandChicks]

Broke down and candled. Very gentle, wish i could have been quicker... 3 for sure. No obvious quitters so all stayed, but i am pretty sure of her dozen only the 3. Too early to see much though, on the 4 d'uccle eggs just an air sack and some veins. Maybe one or two of my best laced girl's 4, one or two of the new girl's. I sure hope she gets less depressed and
eats better. No tilt to the bator letting them stabilize for the night.

Oh, I get it now! You tilt the incubator itself, not the eggs/cartons inside.

Very smart idea!!!!

 

[Faraday40]

Y For turning i don't open the bator. I tape it shut and prop up one side than the other. Thistime i used the roll itself as a handy stand

You can also add sponges for humidity; i do a dry hatch until lockdown but the humidity has been below 25 percent so may start adding a little. (Supposed to be 30 for a dry hatch)

Interesting idea: You turn the whole incubator! Did it work last time & does it provide enough of an angle? Do you keep the eggs upright in the cartons to hatch? Does "dry hatch" mean no water added until the end or just a lower humidity?

I'm asking b/c we're currently building a cooler incubator for part of my daughter's 4H project. The egg turner is the biggest source of debate in our family. I'm thinking of a simple wooden frame with parallel dowel rods, then attaching a rod to slide back & forth = rolling the eggs. My father wants to build a complicated electronic auto turner with timer. The kids want whatever's fastest to build, so we can set some eggs sooner. And, my husband just wants to change the topic. LOL Your idea is so elegant in its simplicity! I wish you a great hatch.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Not my idea, i stole it from the little giant thread! I read a lot of it and took what seemed to work best. Hoping there are more in there slowed by the cooler temp; on the warmer days it is spot on but these cool ones.......oh it can't last forever! Out of a dozen last time i got 6. 4 were duds and never started, one quit shortly before lockdown and one got killed trying to hatch because i opened the bator to save the chick that was the reason for the hatch. (Ruins humidity opening)

If i get a daughter she will strictly be a house girl. I let hope with the flock this last summer and she would not come back as a full time house girl. This particular bloodline is very important to me. I have her sister cookie i can work with too but just not sure since she is so big! I wanted short and broad...her sis is very human bonded too. Difference between a friendly bird and a bonded bird is when you bring food do they forsake the food to come toyou first? Hope did, her sis flip flops, the newer roo and hen are doing it now too. Best laced girl and her daughter thst hatched with hope are friendly but not bonded.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

The little giant is heated by a loop similar to a veggie dehydrater. The eggs sit fat end up in a carton cut down so the cups are barely there; this is for air flow. They are in the middle of the loop. I tilt side to side using about a 2 inch prop. The tilt is so one or other of the length of the carton is up, not end to end. I described it more in detail in my page "fuzzy's notes". Letting the eggs rest this way and the carton hatch was in part inspired by a thread about "detached air cells from shipped eggs" which is also linked to in my notes
I personally don't like opening the bator and i thought about buying a turner but those can create hot spots and air flow issues possibly...each method has a downside so you gotta find what you are comfortable with!
A dry hatch is only syarted with a tb or more of water then left alone as long as there is at least 30 percent humidity. At lockdown you let lay flat and bump up the humidity for that; this method is what works best for the little giant hatches. Me personally i'd do a search of your homemade cooler bator and see what tricks the others may have as well; can't hurt.

 

[ladyrsanti]

I have a non-poultry question.
My husband and I recently acquired a llama and an alpaca. We are using the existing fencing from when we had horses and it's a mix of 2x4s on posts and square stock fencing. Today we discovered the alpaca can walk under some of the boards. Does anybody else have alpacas and what do you use for fencing? Can we just lower some of the 2x4s?

Dunno if anyone answered this or not but I have sheep, which are not alpaca but the fencing requirements are similar. I would recommend either electric fencing or woven wire. My sheep would be out of a wooden fence in two shakes. It's bad enough my woven wire is really wide and my smallest ewe can practically squeeze through the holes. I need to replace much of mine if I ever breed them and have little lambs or get goats.

ETA: the guy I get llama fiber from has electric fencing on his farm.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

@fuzzybutt love

I have a Rouen duck that wants to be a house duck, too bad I can't entice you to take her. LOL

 

[chickwhispers]

Saw this today and my husband and I both cracked up. Pretty much spot on. lol

I need to remember this look!

 

[snowflake]

good luck with the township, you could go in and ask, or try to get them to change the ordinance ? some just get chickens and hope, if you do that you would want all hens so you don't attract attention.

For fun...what a difference a month makes....








My little Welsummer roo is right in front to the left next to the Buff Orphington

sweet!! they do grow fast,

@snowflakenot being able to see the coop is my only reservation about my dad's choice of location. There's a big pine tree in the way.

but considering there's still a foot of snow in the yard out there,we don't have to decide right away. That's why we're doing so much planning up front,before we even bring any chicks home.

you could maybe cut lower branches up a bit, we have a tree in our run but have netting over the run we just zip tied it securely around the trunk, we also have electric wire around the run witch deters climbers